I don't post bullshit, I'm not trolling, and this needs to be taken seriously and I would appreciate some evaluation from others. My children will NOT be attending school on Tuesday for this "drill."

I live in a rural town in Oklahoma. We got a pre-recorded message on our home phone tonight informing us of an "emergency preparedness drill" that will be taking place on Tuesday of this week. It was non-detailed, and just said that they wanted to practice in case of a real emergency and that this was only a drill. As a parent, I was NOT notified of the plan surrounding the drill or that the students would be taken away from campus.

After the call, I mention this to my teen girls, one is a junior and the other a senior in the public high school. They already knew about the upcoming drill, just not the specific day as "the drill was supposed to happen weeks ago, before spring break, but the police weren't ready so they delayed it." They also told me that the teachers have been upfront with them that they will be placed on buses and taken to an undisclosed location. One of the possible scenarios the students have been told the emergency might be is a possible chemical spill at the school. WHAT? The senior has been told when the drill begins, one instructor has told her class that all students have to turn off their cell phones and give the phones to the teacher in clear designated baggies for her to keep control of "in case a student decided to detonate a bomb with their phone." WTF? If they're practicing for a "chemical spill emergency" why do phones have to be given up so no detonation may occur?

The kids have also been told they'll be away from the school for two hours and if they end up missing vo-tech because of the drill, the absence will be excused. There's RUMOR that the police/authorities will be searching lockers and belongings while the kids are taken away for two hours, but that is unconfirmed and is just a rumor, although I wouldn't be surprised.

Does anyone else see a problem with this? If students are going to be removed from the campus for two hour as part of an emergency drill and their location undisclosed while the students have no access to communication devices to contact their parents, don't you think they should have gotten parent permission or at least some disclosure?

In my opinion, it seems the school system is planning and practicing how to remove children from school and take them away to undisclosed location without access to communication to let their families know their status and their location. Why would the school not want parents to be aware of where their children are? Why gone for two hours?

Where are the permission forms? Parental rights? Where is the disclosure and transparency? This just seems a little too big brother for me.

There is only a brief mention of a drill in the local paper, but it gives no details and says only that one school will be involved but they aren't saying which school. There is only one high school in this town and my kids seemed to know all about this drill so it's probably theirs.

Please suggest a pin so this can be discussed.

EDITED FOR UPDATE:I have spoken with the superintendent. The kids are indeed being bused off school grounds to an undisclosed location and will not be allowed to take their cell phones. Parental permission isn't required, according to them, because "don't you want your child safe in an emergency?" and "we're training the children" as she put it.

I recorded the conversation.

EDITED FOR UPDATE AFTER THE DRILL:

The drill happened. The children were taken by bus away from the school campus to the Grove Civic Center, which is not school property and is not adjacent to any school property.

Here's the local newspaper's website with a play by play of the "event" from their planning perspective, including the fact the kids were taken to the civic center:

Members of the press may contact me at libertyin2012@yahoo.com to request a copy of the audio recording which may not be aired or published (my attorney said it would be a bad idea to publish it), but can be used for confirmation purposes. This is not for money, this is for truth.

I would be happy to give a mod the school name and location to verify. I don't think it will help things to have droves of GLPers calling the school asking about FEMA camps or the NWO or whatever other wacky trouble some may cause.

I would be happy to give a mod the school name and location to verify. I don't think it will help things to have droves of GLPers calling the school asking about FEMA camps or the NWO or whatever other wacky trouble some may cause.

Quoting: withoutatrace

You sounded worried, and you're making it out to sound very strange - maybe droves of people inquiring would stop it.

give the phones to the teacher in clear designated baggies for her to keep control of "in case a student decided to detonate a bomb with their phone."

This is insane. Anyone who intends to detonate a bomb certainly won't give their phone up -- they'll just detonate it. I would assume this is a role play substitution to make the students familiar with handing over personal property without questioning authority. It also makes the students associate themselves as being guilt and/or making suspecting their fellow students and friends of being guilty of something.

Prior to this event, these students woud have never though a fellow student would do something.

There's RUMOR that the police/authorities will be searching lockers and belongings while the kids are taken away for two hours, but that is unconfirmed and is just a rumor, although I wouldn't be surprised.

They probably will conduct searches, as they will want to go through the entire scenario / role play.

Where are the permission forms? Parental rights? Where is the disclosure and transparency? This just seems a little too big brother for me.

Absolutely question it without permission forms and full transparency. In my opinion this is entirely irresponsible and hints at higher authorities being involved.

There is only a brief mention of a drill in the local paper, but it gives no details and says only that one school will be involved but they aren't saying which school. There is only one high school in this town and my kids seemed to know all about this drill so it's probably theirs.

Call you local paper and ask them why they aren't digging into it more. Why aren't they going to have someone ride on the bus or meet at the destination. Everyone loves positive press, and at least then there would some formal documentation of it occurring.

Overall, I think you have the right to be concerned. Although you and your kids could be ostracized due to non-participation, everyone else just looks at it as goofin' off for 2 hours.

Two hours is a long time to be away from school. Imagine 1/2 hour drive in a single direction to the destination and a 1/2 hour back, there must be some exercises that are going to be taking place on site.

Overall, I'm sure the drill will go off without a hitch, and I would expect that most people involved have the best intensions at heart, but it still seems strange and

I really hate to give the school details here. If there's a trusted member or mod that I could give the details to for confirmation, I would be glad to do so. I just don't want any repercussions after we're identified and labeled as troublemakers for not just blindly accepting our marching orders and our rights trampled. Maybe I should welcome that label, but not with the kids involved too.

I don't post bullshit, I'm not trolling, and this needs to be taken seriously and I would appreciate some evaluation from others. My children will NOT be attending school on Tuesday for this "drill."

I live in a rural town in Oklahoma. We got a pre-recorded message on our home phone tonight informing us of an "emergency preparedness drill" that will be taking place on Tuesday of this week. It was non-detailed, and just said that they wanted to practice in case of a real emergency and that this was only a drill. As a parent, I was NOT notified of the plan surrounding the drill or that the students would be taken away from campus.

After the call, I mention this to my teen girls, one is a junior and the other a senior in the public high school. They already knew about the upcoming drill, just not the specific day as "the drill was supposed to happen weeks ago, before spring break, but the police weren't ready so they delayed it." They also told me that the teachers have been upfront with them that they will be placed on buses and taken to an undisclosed location. One of the possible scenarios the students have been told the emergency might be is a possible chemical spill at the school. WHAT? The senior has been told when the drill begins, one instructor has told her class that all students have to turn off their cell phones and give the phones to the teacher in clear designated baggies for her to keep control of "in case a student decided to detonate a bomb with their phone." WTF? If they're practicing for a "chemical spill emergency" why do phones have to be given up so no detonation may occur?

The kids have also been told they'll be away from the school for two hours and if they end up missing vo-tech because of the drill, the absence will be excused. There's RUMOR that the police/authorities will be searching lockers and belongings while the kids are taken away for two hours, but that is unconfirmed and is just a rumor, although I wouldn't be surprised.

Does anyone else see a problem with this? If students are going to be removed from the campus for two hour as part of an emergency drill and their location undisclosed while the students have no access to communication devices to contact their parents, don't you think they should have gotten parent permission or at least some disclosure?

In my opinion, it seems the school system is planning and practicing how to remove children from school and take them away to undisclosed location without access to communication to let their families know their status and their location. Why would the school not want parents to be aware of where their children are? Why gone for two hours?

Where are the permission forms? Parental rights? Where is the disclosure and transparency? This just seems a little too big brother for me.

There is only a brief mention of a drill in the local paper, but it gives no details and says only that one school will be involved but they aren't saying which school. There is only one high school in this town and my kids seemed to know all about this drill so it's probably theirs.

I really hate to give the school details here. If there's a trusted member or mod that I could give the details to for confirmation, I would be glad to do so. I just don't want any repercussions after we're identified and labeled as troublemakers for not just blindly accepting our marching orders and our rights trampled. Maybe I should welcome that label, but not with the kids involved too.

Quoting: withoutatrace

Is it a large school? If so, nobody would be able to single you, a nameless poster on GLP, as the parent who was posting about it. I know what you mean about not wanting to stir the pot, our school district has major issues as well but in this case, this sounds like an issue of safety. What if there is an emergency (family-related) and the parents need to reach their kids? I thought by law, they are required to have permission slips when they leave school grounds. Because they are moving the kids, I would have to imagine they would also need chaperones as well?

I'm with you-- I'd keep my kids home too. But, on a larger scale--I'd start to consider moving, if there is something sinister behind this--it won't be going away after the drill--they could be rounding up the adults next time.

Is there a FEMA camp near you?

"You can bend it and twist it... You can misuse and abuse it... But even God cannot change the Truth.”Michael Levy

I really hate to give the school details here. If there's a trusted member or mod that I could give the details to for confirmation, I would be glad to do so. I just don't want any repercussions after we're identified and labeled as troublemakers for not just blindly accepting our marching orders and our rights trampled. Maybe I should welcome that label, but not with the kids involved too.

Quoting: withoutatrace

Is it a large school? If so, nobody would be able to single you, a nameless poster on GLP, as the parent who was posting about it. I know what you mean about not wanting to stir the pot, our school district has major issues as well but in this case, this sounds like an issue of safety. What if there is an emergency (family-related) and the parents need to reach their kids? I thought by law, they are required to have permission slips when they leave school grounds. Because they are moving the kids, I would have to imagine they would also need chaperones as well?

Quoting: Laura Bow

Oh, I'm sure after I give this link, the school will claim they aren't moving the kids. I assure you they've been telling the high school kids that they'll be gone for two hours for weeks now as it has been planned.

I am really trying to not be an alarmist. I know I don't have enough information. But if they're planning to take our kids off campus for two hours without parental consent or the abiliy to contact their parents, that's wrong. What if I needed to pick up my child and I go to the school and there are no kids and it's full of emergency vehicles?

Alright, here's the local news story on it. They aren't mentioning the taking the kids off campus but the high schoolers have been told that is the plan, and they'll be gone for two hours. Notice the photo they select for the news story shows kids getting off buses.

This is Grove Public Schools in Delaware County, Oklahoma.

The high school kids already know they're going to be the ones involved. They've been told they're just being taken to the mid-high campus, but at the same time told it's an undisclosed location and they can't have communication methods if their phones are seized. There are no other schools on the high school campus or within a few miles of that campus. Plus, all the emergency vehicles would scare the little kids.

I really hate to give the school details here. If there's a trusted member or mod that I could give the details to for confirmation, I would be glad to do so. I just don't want any repercussions after we're identified and labeled as troublemakers for not just blindly accepting our marching orders and our rights trampled. Maybe I should welcome that label, but not with the kids involved too.

Quoting: withoutatrace

Is it a large school? If so, nobody would be able to single you, a nameless poster on GLP, as the parent who was posting about it. I know what you mean about not wanting to stir the pot, our school district has major issues as well but in this case, this sounds like an issue of safety. What if there is an emergency (family-related) and the parents need to reach their kids? I thought by law, they are required to have permission slips when they leave school grounds. Because they are moving the kids, I would have to imagine they would also need chaperones as well?

Quoting: Laura Bow

Oh, I'm sure after I give this link, the school will claim they aren't moving the kids. I assure you they've been telling the high school kids that they'll be gone for two hours for weeks now as it has been planned.

I am really trying to not be an alarmist. I know I don't have enough information. But if they're planning to take our kids off campus for two hours without parental consent or the abiliy to contact their parents, that's wrong. What if I needed to pick up my child and I go to the school and there are no kids and it's full of emergency vehicles?

Alright, here's the local news story on it. They aren't mentioning the taking the kids off campus but the high schoolers have been told that is the plan, and they'll be gone for two hours. Notice the photo they select for the news story shows kids getting off buses.

This is Grove Public Schools in Delaware County, Oklahoma.

The high school kids already know they're going to be the ones involved. They've been told they're just being taken to the mid-high campus, but at the same time told it's an undisclosed location and they can't have communication methods if their phones are seized. There are no other schools on the high school campus or within a few miles of that campus. Plus, all the emergency vehicles would scare the little kids.